A leading business man and engineer that founded a Brighouse company and create it into a global forces has died at the age 90.

Edward Singleton created the company that is now known as KOSO Kent Introl based on Birds Royd Lane.

Mr Singleton stepped down from the position of Managing Director of Kent Introl in 1990, but has acted in a consultancy capacity for the company until March 2015.

He was born in Brighouse in 1925, where he lived his entire life. His father was a professional musician and teacher, being organist at St Martin’s Parish Church for 49 years.

After his education at St Chads School, Hove Edge and Hipperholme Grammar School, he joined the company of J Blakeborough & Sons when he was 16-years-old, a large valve manufacturing company situated in the Birds Royd area of Brighouse, as an apprentice.

He received excellent training and was released two days a week to study for an external London University engineering degree at Bradford College of Advanced Technology, now Bradford University.

In 1948 after completing his degree, he was delegated by Blakeborough’s to receive training in control valve technology at the Hammel-Dahl Company in the USA.

In 1949, he was invited by the company to start and develop a Control Valve Division, an agreement having been signed with Hamel Dahl, to manufacture under licence their range of control valves.

A new purpose built factory was built on the Blakeborough’s Brighouse site on the opposite site of the River Calder to the main factory and was appointed General Manager of the Control Valve Division and in 1960 was invited to join the board of directors.

In 1967, Mr Singleton announced his intention to leave Blakeborough’s after concluding that he was not going to be able to develop the Control Valve Division and realise the opportunities he envisaged.

He assembled a team individuals with expertise in different areas of the business, from the Blakeborough control valve division and Hopkinson’s and formed the Introl Company with himself as MD.

A chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers he continued to work for Introl in a consultancy capacity until he was 90

Mr Singleton also published the book ‘A specifier’s guide to control valves’, a culmination of his lifetime work.

His other great passion was classical music and was involved with the choir and organ concerts at Brighouse Parish Church.

He attended Brighouse Parish Church all his life, being a member of the church choir for over 80 years.

In recent years Mr Singleton organised a number of celebrity organ recitals where the use of the Grand and Gallery organs with their contrasting styles has been interesting and effective.

The organists he attracted to Brighouse, to name a few included John Scott from New York, Thomas Trotter, Roger Fisher and Simon Johnson of St Pauls Cathedral, all organists with international reputations. Another fine success was the concert he organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the church in 1981 when he arranged for the all professional orchestra of Opera North to come and play a programme of classical music including a new commissioned work by his friend Dr Philip Marshall.